Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been slapped with a six-figure fine by the NFL after he was caught appearing to perform a rude gesture at fans during Sunday’s game – but he insists all is not as it seemed.
With a slew of injuries to their offensive line – and star receiver CeeDee Lamb ruled out as well – the Cowboys still managed to put up a ton of points as they beat the New York Jets 37-22 at MetLife Stadium.
And the victory seemingly left Jones, 82, feeling bold as he appeared to show his middle finger to the crowd below his VIP suite.
The NFL has now fined the franchise owner and president $250,000 for the gesture, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
However, the octogenarian may still appeal the punishment after he played down the gesture, claiming it was a mere ‘unfortunate’ mistake.
‘That was kind of an exchange with our fans out in front of us,’ Jones claimed on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. ‘There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out front. Not Jet fans, Cowboys fans. The entire stadium was brimming with the enthusiasm of Cowboys, certainly late in the game.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Jerry Jones gave the middle finger to Jets fans during the Cowboys’ win on Sunday
The Cowboys owner has now claimed that he was trying to make a different gesture
‘That was inadvertent on my part. It was right after we made our last touchdown. We were all excited about it, there wasn’t antagonistic issue or anything like that. I put up the wrong show of hand. I’m not kidding. If you want to call it accidental, you can call it accidental.
‘It got straightened around pretty quick, but the intention was thumbs up and pointing at our fans because everyone was jumping up and down excited.’
The move was just the latest installment in Jones’s controversial tenure as owner of the Cowboys.
Most recently, he dominated headlines throughout the offseason over his contract standoff with Micah Parsons.
Jones stunned the NFL world by trading Parsons from Dallas to the Green Bay Packers in August.
After a long contract standoff between Parsons and the franchise, the pass-rusher was dealt to Green Bay in exchange for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two-first round picks.
Parsons also agreed to a reported four-year, $188 million contract with his new franchise upon being traded there.
The Cowboys have fared alright without Parsons, as they improved to 2-2-1 on the season following their trouncing of the Jets.
Parsons, meanwhile, has 2.5 sacks thus far for the Packers, who have a 2-1-1 record after tying with the Cowboys last week.
